Chapter#59

Chapter#59
Selene’s POV
I floated in a vast nothingness, weightless and lost, as if the world itself had slipped away. The darkness pressed against me from every side like a thick blanket pulled over my face. I couldn’t see, couldn’t move, couldn’t even be sure I still had a body. There was only the faintest echo of pain somewhere deep in my chest, dull and far away, as though it belonged to someone else. It was like hearing a scream through walls so thick the sound barely reached me.
Where am I? The question rose again and again, bouncing through the hollow of my mind. Panic stirred inside me, clawing at my throat like an animal trying to escape a cage. My heart thudded unevenly like a drum in the silence that only made the emptiness louder.
Is this death? Am I dead?
The thought cut deep, and fear twisted inside me like a knife sliding between my ribs. I had failed. Failed Damien’s memory, failed my father and my brother, who gave their lives to protect me, failed to spill the blood of the monster who had painted our snow red with slaughter.
Tears stung behind my eyes, but here, in this emptiness, they never fell. Nothing fell. Everything stayed locked inside me, pressing harder and harder until grief broke over me like a wave. It crashed down, filling every corner of me until I could hardly breathe. I was drowning without water, sinking into sorrow that had no bottom.
A silver glow shimmered in the distance, faint at first, like a star trembling on the edge of sight. It pulsed softly, then grew brighter, spreading through the darkness until it pulled at me with an invisible force. I couldn’t resist it. It was like a current beneath my body, carrying me forward and drawing me out of the nothingness.
The void peeled away as I drifted closer. Shadows thinned, parted, and then, suddenly, I wasn’t floating anymore. My feet touched solid ground. I glanced down and saw grass. It was lush like velvety blades that bent under my weight, brushing against my skin with a ticklish softness.
I froze, hardly daring to breathe. The air itself felt alive. It hummed faintly, giving a vibration that resonated in my bones, as though the world was singing in a language I didn’t know. Each inhale filled me with the fragrance of wildflowers and something crisper like moonlight distilled into the air. It slid into my lungs, cooling, soothing, easing the tight ache that had lived in my chest since the slaughter on my wedding day.
Where am I? I looked around. Am I dreaming? Maybe, hallucinating? 
Slowly, I lifted my gaze. The horizon glowed softly, washed in pale silver light, and the sky above seemed endless, scattered with stars. A strange, fragile awe stirred in me, blooming in the cracks of my fear. For the first time since the void swallowed me, wonder took root in my heart.
I knew then: I was dead. 
The thought didn’t come as a whisper or a question but as a heavy truth settling into my bones. The void, the pain, the pull of the silver light; this was the end my kind always spoke of. I had crossed the threshold, leaving behind flesh and blood, stepping into the place we had only ever imagined.
The garden stretched before me without end. I couldn’t believe it. I was in the Lunar Veil. I had heard the stories since I was a pup, the old tales of where spirits walked once the Moon Goddess called them home. They said she wove our souls from starlight and shadow, and when death came, we returned to her threads, resting until we were needed again.
Moonbark trees rose high around me. Their silver leaves trembled with a light that wasn’t sunlight, but something softer, purer, as though the branches themselves carried the glow of the moon. Fruits dangled from their limbs, round and radiant, glowing like tiny captured moons, pulsing faintly with a heartbeat of energy.
Rivers of Starflow cut through the meadows. Their waters gleamed as if liquid night had been stirred with silver dust. Along the banks, Nightbloom flowers opened their dark petals wide, releasing gentle glows that painted the paths in luminous moss. Every step I took was softened by the earth itself, as if the land cradled me like a child returning home.
At the edges of the garden, I caught glimpses of wolves. Those were maybe the spirits of my kind. Their fur was translucent, like smoke given shape. They did not snarl or threaten. They were just there, floating above the ground. 
Peace poured through me, warm and steady, easing the storm that had carried me here. Yet, beneath that calm, there was an ache sharp enough to hollow me out. I felt the world I had left behind tugging at me still.
If this is heaven, why does it hurt so much?
Joy flickered weakly, fragile as a candle in the wind. But doubt slid in beside it, whispering questions. 
Is this truly the afterlife promised to us? The Lunar Veil I had always heard of? Or is it only an illusion before the darkness claims me forever?
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the faintest flicker of movement. My breath stilled, and every nerve in my body tightened as I turned. At first, it was only a ripple in the air, a shimmer against the silver light. But then my eyes adjusted, and I saw her.
“Who… who’s there?” The words tumbled from me, echoing strangely in the vastness. Fear coiled with hope inside my chest as confusion gnawed at me. 
The air shifted, parting like a veil. And from the radiance stepped a figure. Her presence was so immense it seemed to bend the world around her. My breath caught hard in my throat as awe crashed over me, flooding me until my knees nearly buckled.
She was unlike anything I had ever imagined. Naked, yet clothed in strands of shimmering veils and light weaved around her body like whispers of moonlight. The gossamer strips clung and fluttered with her every movement.
Her hair spilled down her back and around her body like an endless cascade. It was longer than any hair I had seen, sweeping the ground, trailing behind her like a river of light. Each strand shimmered with silver and gold, catching glimmers that had no source, as though they had been spun from the stars themselves.
Her skin glowed faintly like an inner radiance that made her seem both flesh and light. But it was her eyes that held me captive. They were deep, infinite blue and endless as the night sky itself, filled with the weight of secrets and the tenderness of a mother’s gaze.
Reverence swept through me. My heart hammered wildly, then seemed to bow beneath the enormity of her presence. 
“Who are you?” My voice slightly trembled.
“I am your Mother.” Her voice was divine.
My knees weakened, trembling, as realization struck me with the force of a storm. This was her. The Moon Goddess. The mother of our kind. The one who had shaped our souls from starlight and shadow, who had breathed life into the first wolves with a song beneath the moon.
I was unworthy to stand before her. How was I even allowed to see her face? And then peace washed over my tattered soul.
The Moon Goddess leaned back, and with a flick of her hand, a swing appeared, woven of silver branches and glowing strands of starlight. It floated effortlessly in the air, swaying gently as though unseen winds carried it. She seated herself upon it with a grace that made the whole realm seem to bow to her presence.
“Come here, my child,” she said as her hand lifted toward me.
My legs felt heavy, trembling under the weight of awe and fear, but I obeyed. I walked slowly across the glowing moss until I stood before her. My knees gave out, and I sank to the ground, bowing my head as tears burned behind my eyes. 
“Mother, I…” The words caught, breaking on the weight of everything I wanted to say.
“Do not fear, my child.” Her voice was soothing. She reached down, placing her hand firmly on my shoulder, and guided me upright. “You are not dead.”
I blinked up at her, stunned. “Not… dead? But this place, this garden. Is it not the Lunar Veil?”
“Yes,” she said, smiling faintly. “This is my home. But you, my love, are not like the others. You’re not here because you’re dead. You carry a gift. You are a traveller.”
“A… traveller?” My voice faltered with disbelief.
“The moon traveller,” she said simply, as though it had always been so.
“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I… when? When did I become this… moon traveller?”
“You have always been one,” she answered. Her hand brushed along my cheek, tender as a mother to her child. “Your spirit has the power to move between realms whenever you drift into unconsciousness. It is a gift of beauty, but also of danger. And the time has come for you to understand it… to learn to wield it.”
Before I could reply, a sharp pain split through my chest. It was sudden, searing, like claws tearing me apart from the inside. I screamed, folding over, clutching at myself as agony stole my breath. “What, what is that?” My voice cracked.
“It is your wolf,” she simply said. “She is dying. Every rejection you have endured has wounded her spirit. Each denial has broken her a little more. If you do not protect her now, Selene, she will fade away. And when she is gone… so will you.”
My body shook as tears spilled freely. “Protect her… how?”
“You must find your mate,” she said, gently swinging. “Only he can heal the bond and bring strength back to your wolf. He is close, so close. He thinks of you every moment, his soul aches for yours, yet you drift far from him still.”
A sob caught in my throat. “But how can I find him? How will I know him when I see him?”
The Moon Goddess’s eyes glimmered like galaxies as her gaze pierced through me. “You will know,” she whispered. “For he is a scarred and shattered soul, carrying ashes in his blood. His past is fire and ruin, and his heart is still bleeding, yet it beats for you. When you find him, Selene, you will recognize the pieces of yourself reflected in his scars. And in that bond, your wolf will live again.”
Her words hung heavy in the silver air, searing themselves into me. For the first time, the path before me was clear, yet it terrified me all the same.
“Damien is dead. So, it could be Liam… or Varian.” I pressed my forehead to the grass, trembling with both fear and fragile hope. “They both are my mates and have a shattered past.”
“They aren’t the mates fate has chosen for you.” She softly giggled. “Look farther than your fear, and lay down your flight, for where the path fades, love awaits.” She gently got up from the swing and waved a hand. “Come, see her.”
We walked only a few steps before I caught sight of movement beneath a towering tree. Its bark shimmered with veins of silver, and its branches stretched endlessly into the sky. Every leaf glowed faintly like trapped starlight. My breath caught. “The Ashenroot Tree,” I whispered.
And then my eyes fell to the base of its trunk. A wolf lay there, wounded and frail. Her sides rose shallowly with each breath. My heart lurched into my throat. “Is that… is that my wolf?” I looked up at the Moon Goddess.
She only smiled and gave a single, solemn nod.
I couldn’t hold myself back. I rushed to her side, collapsing to my knees. My arms wrapped tightly around her trembling body. Tears blurred my vision as I buried my face in her fur. 
“Please… please forgive me,” I sobbed. “I’ve failed you. I’ve been weak, and I’ve let you suffer. But I swear, I’ll do anything, anything, to save you and to protect you.”
The wolf gave a soft growl, not of anger, but of recognition as her head pressed faintly against my chest. My hands shook as I stroked her, clinging to her warmth. “Astra,” I whispered through my tears. “Your name is Astra.”
The Goddess moved closer and knelt beside me. She laid a gentle hand on my shoulder. “She needs healing, Selene,” she said. “Your wolf is bound to your soul, and the pain you carry has weakened her. But you can mend her.”
“How?” I begged, clutching Astra tighter, afraid she might vanish from my arms.
The Goddess placed her luminous hand over mine. Her palm glowed, and from it poured a stream of silver light, flowing into Astra’s body. It spread through her fur like liquid moonfire, wrapping her in threads of brilliance. 
“Draw from your heart,” the Goddess instructed. “Feel the bond that ties you to her. Let love guide the light.”
I closed my eyes and breathed deeply, focusing on the pulse between us. Awe surged within me as the light deepened. Astra’s glow strengthened until it pulsed like starlight beneath my hands. Joy burst in my chest, spilling into gratitude.
“She is healed,” the Goddess said softly. “But only for a time. Time slips like grains of sand, Selene. To save her, you must find your fated mate. Only then will your wolf be safe.”
Relief broke me open. Tears streamed down my face as Astra lifted her head and her tail brushed weakly against my arm. A soft whine escaped her throat. I held her close, whispering my thanks.
But when I looked up to share my gratitude with the Moon Goddess, the space beside me was empty. Astra shimmered as her form dissolved into silver dust, scattering like sparks in the wind. My arms clutched at nothing.
“Mother?” I called, rising shakily to my feet. My voice echoed through the silver garden, but no answer came. Only silence.
I turned in circles as panic tightened in my chest. “Moon Goddess?” I tried again, louder and desperate. Still nothing. 
“How do I get back to the real world?” I muttered, pacing under the silver boughs of the Ashenroot Tree.
“Selene?”
The voice was soft yet steady and achingly familiar. My breath caught, and I spun around.
“Father.” The word left me in a trembling whisper as my face flushed with disbelief.
He stood just a few steps away. Beside him, a woman lingered, radiant and gentle. Her eyes glistened with love I had longed for all my life. My chest constricted. “Mother?” I breathed before rushing forward. I threw my arms around her, clinging to her warmth, terrified she might vanish like mist.
She held me close, stroking my hair with a tenderness that made my knees weaken. But my father’s tone was grave. “You… you shouldn’t be here, Selene. What happened?”
I pulled back and seized his hands, gripping them tightly as though I could anchor myself to this impossible moment. “It’s all right, Father,” I whispered as tears already burned. “I’m not dead.”
His eyes narrowed as confusion flickered across his features. “Not dead? Then how?”
“She is a traveller,” my mother answered before I could speak. She smiled at me, and her hand brushed across my cheek in a way that made my heart ache. “Our daughter walks between worlds. I always knew you were special, Selene.”
Her words undid me. My tears spilled freely as I turned back to my father. “I’ve failed you,” I choked out. “I failed to avenge you… or Kaelen. Me, Caden, and Rowen… we couldn’t face that monster. We’re still not strong enough.”
At my brother’s name, Father’s expression shifted. His brows furrowed, his tone sharp with surprise. “Kaelen?” He stepped closer, his hand gripping my shoulder. “Selene, he’s not dead.”
I froze, staring at him in shock. “What? No, that can’t be. Leandro, he… he killed him.” My voice broke. “If he’s alive, then where is he? Where!”
“I don’t know.” Father’s voice trembled as worry broke through his usual steel. “But he is not here. Which means his story has not ended. You must find him, Selene. Do not give up on your brother.”
My mother clasped both of my hands in hers, and her eyes met mine. “My daughter, you have the strength to avenge the blood of your father and your pack. But you are not meant to do it alone. Find your brother. Find Kaelen. And avenge the blood of your pack.”
And just like that, my eyes flew open with a sharp gasp. My chest rose and fell in shuddering breaths.
Varian’s arms were wrapped tight around me. His body flushed against mine, and his breath was hot and ragged against my neck as he moved within me. 
“Varian…” My voice broke into a soft moan as his name slipped past my lips.
He froze as his eyes met mine. “Selene…”